I’m Kristina, a freelance military reporter who writes regularly for the New York Times about business and the military. My stories have also appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Newsweek, Wired, Businessweek, Foreign Policy, Pacific Standard, AP, FoxNews.com and the New York Post. I’m also a U.S. Army veteran.

BULLET BLITZ

Demand from public, government leaves ammo shelves empty

Demand for guns and ammunition has cleaned out stores nationwide, leading to waiting lists and early morning lines outside of gun and sporting good stores for ammunition shipments. Common calibers routinely sell out within minutes of appearing on store shelves and prices have soared as much as 70 percent.

After the Newtown elementary school massacre, gun enthusiasts, already anxious President Obama’s re-election would translate into harsh controls on gun ownership, have packed stores, buying as many firearms and as much ammunition as they can find. Moves to expand background checks and limit firearm and magazine sales have added to the hysteria. Massive government purchases, including a plan by the Department of Homeland Security to buy more than 1 billion rounds of ammunition, have further stoked fears – and suspicions.

SAVING SERGEANT NICKEL

They survived Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the challenge is keeping traumatized vets out of jail.

Courtesy of Pacific Standard

As American soldiers stream home, many of them are running into serious trouble with police. The FBI is called into about 20 hostage situations involving veteans every year, and police report many more dangerous confrontations. As many as 20% of America’s hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan vets may be battling PTSD, brain injuries or other mental health problems. Throw in unemployment and substance abuse and legal problems are more likely.

Vietnam taught us how often soldiers traumatized by conflict overseas can wind up in trouble with the law back home. This time around, a growing array of police, court, and correctional officers are trying to help. My story in Pacific Standard.

BULLET BLITZ

Demand from public, government leaves ammo shelves empty

Demand for guns and ammunition has cleaned out stores nationwide, leading to waiting lists and early morning lines outside of gun and sporting good stores for ammunition shipments. Common calibers routinely sell out within minutes of appearing on store shelves and prices have soared as much as 70 percent.

After the Newtown elementary school massacre, gun enthusiasts, already anxious President Obama’s re-election would translate into harsh controls on gun ownership, have packed stores, buying as many firearms and as much ammunition as they can find. Moves to expand background checks and limit firearm and magazine sales have added to the hysteria. Massive government purchases, including a plan by the Department of Homeland Security to buy more than 1 billion rounds of ammunition, have further stoked fears – and suspicions.

SAVING SERGEANT NICKEL

They survived Iraq and Afghanistan. Now the challenge is keeping traumatized vets out of jail.

Courtesy of Pacific Standard

As American soldiers stream home, many of them are running into serious trouble with police. The FBI is called into about 20 hostage situations involving veteans every year, and police report many more dangerous confrontations. As many as 20% of America’s hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan vets may be battling PTSD, brain injuries or other mental health problems. Throw in unemployment and substance abuse and legal problems are more likely.

Vietnam taught us how often soldiers traumatized by conflict overseas can wind up in trouble with the law back home. This time around, a growing array of police, court, and correctional officers are trying to help. My story in Pacific Standard.

I’m Kristina, a freelance military reporter who writes regularly for the New York Times about business and the military. My stories have also appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Newsweek, Wired, Businessweek, Foreign Policy, Pacific Standard, AP, FoxNews.com and the New York Post. I’m also a U.S. Army veteran.

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